NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is back on the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Carleton for a 1 p.m. conference matchup with the Knights.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2 MIAC | 7-2 Overall)
at Carleton Knights (2-4 MIAC | 2-7 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals could not shake off a slow start, as Gustavus raced out to a 46-30 halftime lead and never looked back in handing SMU an 86-66 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Wednesday at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn. … Carleton also struggled early in its first game back from the Christmas break Wednesday, as nationally ranked St. Thomas grabbed a 40-26 halftime advantage in cruising to a 75-64 conference win over the Knights in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. Carleton — A Year Ago:
November 30, 2011: The Cardinals got a free throw from Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) with less than five seconds remaining in regulation to lift SMU to a 58-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Carleton at the SMU Gym.
January 18, 2012: The Cardinals scored the game's final five points — a 3-pointer by Emily DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and a game-winning layup by Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) with eight seconds remaining — en route to a 61-60 victory over the Knights in Northfield, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, as they conclude their lengthy road swing with a 3 p.m. conference game against Concordia in Moorhead, Minn. … Carleton, meanwhile, is also back on the court on Monday, as they travel across town for a 5:45 p.m. MIAC game against St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saturday's game against Carleton is the fifth of six straight road games for the Cardinals. … Both of SMU's games against Carleton a year ago were decided by one point. … Despite Wednesday's loss to Gustavus, the Cardinals' 7-2 record is the best start since the Cardinals went 8-2 to open the 2004-05 season. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a season-high 21 points against the Gusties on Wednesday. It was the first time this season and the seventh time in her career that Thone has netted 20 or more points. … Thone, who has scored 10 or more points in 21 of the Cardinals' last 25 games, is just 79 points shy of becoming the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau. … Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis.) chipped in a career-best 14 points against Gustavus Wednesday. … Thone has now led the team in scoring in five of their first nine games. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) notched her first double-double of the season with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance against St. Catherine on Dec. 1, and missed double-double No. 2 by one rebound with her 14-point, 9-rebound effort against UW-La Crosse on Dec. 12. … The 14 points vs. UW-La Crosse were a season high for Euerle. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) owns SMU's other two double-doubles this season, posting 21 points and 11 rebounds vs. Olivet on Nov. 17, and 15 points and 12 boards vs. Hamline on Dec. 3. … Stefely owns 13 career double-doubles, while Euerle has recorded four in her three-year collegiate career. … Stefely scored a game-high 20 points against St. Thomas on Dec. 5. It was the second time this season and fifth time in her collegiate career that Stefely has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. … Stefely's 20-point night was just five points shy of her collegiate-best 25-point showing against Macalester on Jan. 7, 2012. … Stefely enters Saturday's conference game at Carleton averaging a team-best 12.8 ppg, while Thone is second at 11.0 ppg and Euerle is third at 8.1 ppg. … Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn.) and Courtney Athnos (La Crosse, Wis.) have each recorded career-high individual performances this season, with Athnos netting a career-best 10 points against Hamline on Dec. 3, while Schoenthaler tallied a career-high 11 points against St. Thomas on Dec. 5. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, has dished out a team-best 38 assists in nine games this season. … Thone has also knocked down 10 of the team's 31 3-pointers. … SMU's loss to fourth-ranked St. Thomas on Dec. 5 snapped their season-opening five-game winning streak. It was the second straight season the Cardinals have put together a five-game win streak, and the first time they had opened the year 5-0 since 2004-05. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 518-461 — including 279-232 in the first half. … The Cardinals' season-high 69 points in their 69-49 win over Olivet on Nov. 17 equaled SMU's highest offensive output from all of last season. The Cardinals scored 69 points in a 69-44 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 2, 2012. … SMU's 56-45 victory over UW-La Crosse on Dec. 12 completed a perfect 3-0 nonconference showing for the Cardinals, who also beat Alma (67-36) and Olivet (69-49) in non-league play.

Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is just the fourth home game of the season for the Knights. … Wednesday's 75-64 loss to nationally ranked St. Thomas was the fifth straight loss for the Knights, who have sandwiched back-to-back wins over St. Catherine and Bethel between losing streaks of two and five games. … Carleton's 64 points against St. Thomas were the most allowed by the Tommies by a conference opponent this season. Only one other MIAC squad had tallied as many as 50 points against the Tommies. … Jenny Ramey led a trio of Carleton players in double figures against St. Thomas Wednesday, scoring a season-high 16 points. … Gabbi Stienstra and Michele Arima each chipped in 11 points vs. UST. … The 11 points from Arima were a career high. … Ramey becomes the sixth different player to lead the Knights in scoring, joining Emma Purfeerst, Megan Chavez, Akemi Arzouman, Skylar Tsutsui, and Stienstra. … Chavez's 23-point showing against Chapman on Nov. 24 is the Knights' highest individual offensive output of the season. …  Purfeerst enters Saturday's game vs. Saint Mary's with a team-leading 11.7 ppg scoring average, while Tsutsui is also averaging in double figures at 10.3 ppg. … Purfeerst also owns the team lead in rebounds with 70 (7.8 rpg). … The Knights have drained 61 3-pointers through nine games, led by Chavez with 13 and Stienstra with 12. … Ramey comes into Saturday's game vs. Saint Mary's with a team-best 31 assists. … As a team, Carleton is shooting 70 percent from the free throw line (113-for-162), led by Chaves (13-for-14) and Purfeerst (30-for-36). … Carleton, which is averaging 61.2 ppg, has scored 318 of its 552 points in the second half. … The Knights have scored 60 or more points five times this season, including a season-best 75-point effort in a 75-62 win over St. Catherine on Nov. 28.